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Let us now establish the date of the advent of Baha'u'llah from the Torah. This date is calculated in lunar years from the revelation of the mission and the emigration of Muhammad. For in the religion of Muhammad the lunar calendar is used, and all the ordinances regarding religious observances have been expressed in terms of that calendar (10:18) In Daniel 12:6 it is said: "And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when He shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." (10:19) As I have already explained the meaning of "day", no further explanation is needed, but let me briefly say that each day of the Father is equivalent to one year, and each year consists of twelve months. Thus three and a half years makes forty-two months, and forty-two months is 1,260 days, and each day in the Bible is equivalent to one year. And it is in the very year 1260 from the emigration of Muhammad, according to the Muslim calendar, that the Bab, the Herald of Baha'u'llah, revealed His mission (10:20) Afterwards, in verses 11 and 12, it is said: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." (10:21) The commencement of this lunar reckoning is from the day of the proclamation of the prophethood of Muhammad in the land of Hijaz; and that was three years after the revelation of His mission, because in the beginning the prophethood of Muhammad was concealed, and no one knew of it save Khadíjih and Ibn-i-Nawfal,[23] until it was publicly announced three years later. And it was in the year 1290 from the proclamation of the mission of Muhammad that Baha'u'llah announced His Revelation.[24]
(10:22)
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